Kevin's Korner - Terminator, X-Men, and a crap-load more

You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about? No, not The Matrix, I'm talking about Kevin's Korner! Your only stop for all the movie and TV news that happened this week. It's been a crazy week, filled with wacky news and annoucements, and I promise none of it has to do with a birth certificate. So, let's get right into it, shall we? And, thanks for being in my korner.

It's non-life threatening ... it's the movie news!

The Avengers have started - According to director and writer Joss Whedon, The Avengers has started shooting. There is only one photo that leaked, which of course, I have for you. In the post from Whedon, he's asking for some luck in a big undertaking that promises to bring together The Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and others from Marvel lore to fight an unknown bad guy. Considering this movie will make or break Marvel, it's safe to say there's a bit of pressure.

Whats next for Iron Man? Shane Black knows - It was announced that the director of Iron Man 3, Shane Black would co-write the script for the third movie. It was already known that the Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang writer/director would helm the movie after Jon Favreau stepped down, but it wasn't confirmed that Black would have a hand of the script until now. It's good news for fans of his. If you're not a fan, then what are you waiting for? Become a fan. Now!

Can I get a collective "whoa" - Finally, after way too long of a hiatus, it looks like Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan will be returning. The script for the third Bill & Ted movie is finished, and it looks like Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter would be returning. Sadly, Rufus, the mentor, played by George Carlin will have to be different, with the departing of the famous comedien. Still, I can't wait to see what middle-aged guys do to portray themselves as characters that made them famous when they were in their twenties. It doesn't matter, I'll be there for the movie.

Bourne again...for the fourth time - When it was announced a fourth Bourne movie was being done, despite only having three books for the source material, and that star Matt Damon would not be returning, it sounded like the project was just a myth. That is, until a script was written, and Jeremy Renner was announced as the lead in the movie, which now, seems to be a full go. The movie is called Bourne Legacy, and it doesn't sound like either the studio or the director is real happy with the decision, compromising on having a huge star and an unknown. Renner is famous for his role in the Award winning The Hurt Locker.

Now, a real movie is filming - Forget this news about these other films, I'm talking a serious, Academy Award movie filming. Yes, I'm talking Piranha 3-DD (also up for the greatest title of the year). It was announced they had started filming, but very little of the cast was announced. Gary Busey was the latest cast member added, but so far, no porn stars have been signed, and Christopher Lloyd has not been confirmed to return (great Scott!). I am crazy excited after the horrendously wonderful first film.

The latest murder for 'Scream' is the chances for a fifth movie - Ghost face may not be making another appearance after the numbers for Scream 4 have been way less than expected, showing audiences don't care about Sidney, or ghost face anymore. It was originally intended to make an additional two movies with a new cast, but since box office numbers have been poor, studios are thinking of rebooting (of course) or just dropping it all together. What's your favorite scary movie? Apparently, not Scream.

'I'll be back' ... yeah, no, we got it - Terminator 5 looks to possibly get off the ground with the announcement of the return of Arnold "Governator" Schwarzenegger. After the poor critical review of Terminator Salvation, it was thought there wouldn't be a fifth film, but with Arnold returning, it seems to be in the bag. I wouldn't mind seeing Christian Bale return as John Connor with his faithful machine with him, battling robots or something. But, do we have to have McG return?

Harry Potter releases trailer - I know I have a trailer of the week section, but this is pretty big news, so it's going here. The finale to the biggest franchise in cinema history is finally coming to a close. I haven't read the books, but it looks to give a lot of the action scenes, including the final one away here. In my review of the first part of the Deathly Hallows, I said there was very little action. I seem to have found that lost action; it's all in the second movie!

Something to make you go 'awww' - Never let it be said I don't have a soft side. Check out this trailer some guy made as an attempt to propose to his girlfriend. It's actually pretty good! Explosions, CG, Michael Bay may see something in this kid. In case you were wondering, it looks like she said 'yes.' See the video HERE

From the big screen to the small screen...whats on the tube?

Smallville is only weeks away from ending - If you have never seen the show, then you don't care, but as the series finishes up the 10th season, the finale offers the return of Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor, along with Alison Mack as Chloe in a finale that is said to wrap things up in a satisfying way. There is supposed to be a Clark and Lois wedding, but that can't happen, it's the CW, there has to be teen angst or the show doesn't fit. If you're excited, here's the trailer for the finale

America loves Doctor Who, Britain, not so much - The season premiere of Doctor Who was the highest ratings BBC America has ever had as the show kicked off with a bang. The surprise, however, is that the great ratings it received here weren't echoed across the pond with a decline from last years season premiere. This is the first time Doctor Who was shown both in American and Britain in the same day. The two-parter raised all kinds of questions we will likely wonder about until the end of the season.

X-Factor names judges, world moves on - Simon Cowell's American version of his talent search show has named it's judges in Paula Abdul, Cheryl Cole and, of course, Simon Cowell. Abdul wasn't much of a shock, I think they must have a thing going on the side, but I'm kinda surprised at Cheryl Cole. Are you interesting in this latest American Idol esque show?

Family Matters star wants to pose for Playboy - Yeah, I know, two weeks in a row with Family Matters making the news, I must be feeling nostalgic. The actress who played the neighbor, Maxine in the show wants to pose for Playboy, now. I haven't seen her in too much since the show went off the air, but apparently, we are about to see much, much more of her.

Show me the money -

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN
1. Rio - $26.8 million ($81.3 million total)
2. Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family - $25.7 million ($25.7 million total)
3. Water For Elephants - $17.5 million ($17.5 million total)
4. Hop - $12.5 million ($100.5 million total)
5. Scream 4 - $7.2 million ($31.2 million total)
6. African Cats - $6.4 million ($6.4 million total)
7. Soul Surfer - $5.6 million ($28.7 million total)
8. Insidious - $5.4 million ($44.2 million total)
9. Hanna - $5.3 million ($31.7 million total)
10. Source Code – $5.1 million ($44.7 million total)

Trailer of the week -

For your entertainment pleasure this week, I present the second X-Men: First Class trailer. This looks to show the friendship of Charles Xavier and Magneto. I'm interested to see this, but I wonder, given we know the outcome of the friendship, if that will taint the experience or not. Either way, it looks like we are getting some really good looking mutant mayhem. Anything to get rid of the memories of the third X-Men movie.

What do you think? Will you be in the theaters for this movie?

Thanks for reading Kevin's Korner! Come on back next week for more news, trailers, and other geek-out stuff!

Q&A with Penelope Cruz

• Disney



• Penelope Cruz's character Angelica

Actress Penelope Cruz sat down the other day to talk about her upcoming role in the fourth Pirates of the Carribean movie, On Stranger Tides. There were so many things I found interesting, and I felt really old that it was 10 years since Blow. It sounds like she will be a female Captain Jack Sparrow, and that chemistry should be pretty amazing. Check out the Q and A and let me know what you think.

Q. Were you a fan of the first three films and how exciting was it to be offered the part?

A. Yes, I had seen the three of them and I loved them. I laughed out loud watching them. I was amazed by the character that Johnny created. I remember when I saw the first one, I was, like, “Wow, that’s so brave and so brilliant.” And I was very happy when Rob told me about the possibility of doing this together. We were in London finishing “Nine” and he asked me, “Would you like to be part of ‘Pirates 4’ with me and Johnny?” And I said, of course. I have never done a movie like that and to go back to work with them again was something that made me very happy. Of course, Johnny and I hadn’t worked together for ten years.

Q. What did you like about reuniting with Johnny and working with him on this?
A. When we were together in “Blow,” we got along really well. We became friends. Then I didn’t see him for a long time, but now that I’ve spent a lot of time with him again, after all these years, it just gets better and better every day. And when I met him, one of the things that I was most surprised about was how humble he is. He’s so kind to everyone and so sweet and he has a really brilliant mind—smart, really clever, fast, really funny. He’s one of the funniest people I know and he has a very big heart. When you work with somebody like that it’s special. He’s a very unique human being.

Q. You mentioned also reuniting with Rob. What is it about him as a director that you enjoy so much?
A. I love Rob. I had a great experience working on “Nine.” I had always wanted to do a musical. He comes from the dance world. He’s a dancer and a choreographer, and I’ve been a student of dance. I’ve never been a professional dancer, but I danced for 17 years, so I know the discipline and the sacrifices that are required to become a professional dancer. And he was one, plus a choreographer, so the work ethic that he has, he brings to the movies. He brings it to the movie set and that affects the whole tone of the movie, affects the whole crew. He creates this beautiful family of people working in the same direction, and everybody wants to make him happy because of the way he is, the way he treats everyone.

Rob can really handle an enormous amount of pressure and he will never lose his temper. He will never be disrespectful to anybody. I’ve never seen that and I’ve done two very long movies with him. So I really respect him for that because I know how hard it is when you are in charge of such a huge movie like this one and you have 400 people every day asking you questions and driving you crazy. And he has this sweet, soft tone all the time with everyone, and even when he was just sleeping three hours a day, he’s a gentleman, and it’s real, what you see from him.

Rob has brought a lot of new things. He has brought more humor; also the movie is 3D for the first time and he’s brought romance for Sparrow for the first time. I play the first female pirate and that’s a tone that feels very fresh and very new, and very, very funny, and I’m very happy about that. I’m happy that I sat down to watch the movie and it really makes you laugh and it flies. It’s like a bullet. And then it’s over and really? That’s two hours? I don’t know exactly how long the movie is, but it goes by as if it was five minutes, and that’s all because of Rob.

Q. You mentioned the first female pirate. Tell me about her character and what she’s like.
A. Angelica is a pirate and she has the pirate mind; tricky, manipulative, dangerous when she has to be. She loves games, but she has a good heart and her motivation is always a good one. But she has a religious background and very strong values. So she’s full of contradictions and I think that’s what makes the character so interesting. She knows that to get what she wants, she has to be tricky and she has to manipulate, for example, Jack Sparrow. And she knows that to be his equal, she has to be a very good liar, a very good actress in life, a very good manipulator. So to get what she wants she’s capable of tricking anybody, but at the end, what she wants is something good.

Q. She’s particularly good at tricking Jack. Tell me about the dynamic and what we find out about her.
A. Angelica wants a type of personal revenge with Jack. But at the same time, she needs Jack because they are both on a mission where they need each other.

So the whole time they are tricking each other but at the same time, they are helping each other. They have this dance with dialog that is very clever, very well written. I think we had a great script to work with. It was great to create that type of relationship with Johnny, but he and I are always fighting in the movies we do, because in “Blow,” where we were married, we fought in every single scene. And in “Pirates” we fight a lot, too, so we have to find one someday where we are not enemies. But it’s always enemies that love each other, you know.

Q. Why does she need him? What’s the mission? What’s going on?
A. They are both trying to find The Fountain of Youth and Angelica has information that he needs, and he has information that she needs. And for many different reasons, we need each other. So there they are, stuck on a boat, trying to play this card. And that was a lot of fun, very fun to do, to create that relationship.

Q. What did you think when you first saw the ship; when you first stepped onto a pirate ship?
A. It was incredible to shoot on that huge ship. It was so beautiful and we were shooting in the middle of the night sometimes until the sun came up. And it was really magical to shoot on that boat. But we were lucky we were in so many beautiful locations in Hawaii, in Puerto Rico, on that little island, Palominito, that was beautiful, in London, Los Angeles. We went to so many places with the movie.

Q. What was it like getting to do that? Is it like being on an adventure to make this movie?
A. One of the beautiful privileges of our work is that we get to travel so much to discover beautiful places. All the places we saw in Hawaii were so beautiful. And sometimes they take you to places that you would never see if you didn’t have this job or places where it’s hard to get to, or places where you need a special permit, like all the buildings they shot in England. We also get to learn to do other strange things like sword fighting.

Q. Tell me about learning the sword fighting. How do you prepare to be a female pirate?
A. I trained for two months before we started shooting. So I knew all the choreography. I trained with all the specialists and all the stuntmen and with my double…she’s amazing. I couldn’t do anything that was dangerous, and I was very protected by Rob and Johnny and Jerry and the studio and everybody.

Q. Do you like the physicality? Do you like doing that kind of stuff?
A. Yes. We approached the fight scenes like a dance number. In “Nine” we had a couple of very big musical numbers, and the same way we trained for those is how we trained for the fight scenes. Rob choreographed the fights almost like a dance. So that helped all of us to get it quicker.

Q. You mentioned Blackbeard. What do you think makes Blackbeard such an interesting villain?
A. Well, he’s really dangerous. I think it’s very clever to cast Ian McShane because he’s such a great actor and he brings something to the character that is completely anti-cliché; he brings truth to everything he does. And there is something in the eyes of that character that really makes you feel real fear. It’s never, “Oh, there’s the bad guy.” He created a very complicated personality and I love that and it’s very, very clever on Rob’s part to cast him for this. I think Ian’s great. I couldn’t imagine anybody better to play that because he’s really an amazing actor, and what a great voice he has.

Q. Your character wants to save him, but he also has edginess about him. You don’t know where he stands, correct?
A. Yes. Angelica doesn’t want to admit that she cannot trust her father. She wants to give him a chance to change and she keeps fighting for that, but it’s very hard.

Q. What do you think about this film? What is it that you enjoy about it? What is so special about this film?
A. Well, there are not a lot of movies like this being made and I think there will be maybe less and less because it’s such a big production to put together. As an actor, to be part of one of these is a big privilege. Because first of all, you get to see from the inside how these movies are made. I love working in Europe and most of the times when I’m working in America, I tend to choose smaller projects with less action because that’s where I find the most interesting characters, but I have to say that here I found both. I found a very interesting character in a movie that is really big and it gave me the opportunity to see how those movies are made. And I love the pirate world because it’s so attractive and so interesting. So, for many reasons, it was great. I feel so lucky that I can be part of this movie.

Q. Can you comment on the new things that people get to see, the mermaids and zombies, and how exciting those characters are?
A. Everybody wants to see mermaids. We all fantasize about how mermaids would be if they were real. And the mermaids in this movie are beautiful, but they are dangerous. I remember on the set everybody wanted to see the girls, the mermaids, and to see the drawings of the pictures of how they would look at the end after all the special effects were finished. And now that I have seen it, it’s really beautiful. It’s very attractive and very sexy, and mysterious; really, really beautiful images that the filmmakers created.

Q. And the zombies? What did you think when you saw them?
A. I cannot really get scared of the zombies because they were all such great guys and we were together for six months. They were in makeup for five or six hours a day, some of them, and it’s amazing what the makeup department has created. All of them worked hard to get that look; they would wake up at 3:00 a.m.

"Our Relationship" - A work in progress....

EDITORS NOTE: This is a work in progress, and just hear for the ease and convenience of me, Kevin

Star crossed lovers, love at first sight, being blinded by love; these are all silly cliché’s that don’t really happen in the real world, right? The prince isn’t really a prince, and he never, ever meets his princess right? They don’t fall in love and live happily every after. Silly stuff like that only happens in stories. Surely, something as silly as true love can’t exist. That’s what I thought … until I met her.

The story doesn’t start off “once upon a time,” rather; it was August in Florida, which means it was about four degrees hotter than hell out. I was trying to stay cool, as I was battling a particularly long stretch of lonely. Things were going rough, bills were everywhere and there weren’t many positives in my life. I was about as far from “prince charming” as you could get. I had pretty much written off the idea of love, and was just looking for a slightly higher quality of life with my dog and I.

One day, my roommate was talking about a friend of his. She was interesting, and different, and she sounded too good to be true. She was Hispanic, and smart, and pretty. I had already written her off. Anyone that amazing was way out of my league. When she walked through my door, I hadn’t even bothered dressing up. She was hanging out with my roommate, and I was too jaded to even bother trying to impress. When I met her, however, everything changed.

The woman of my dreams was sitting down, telling me how she would whoop me in Mario Kart, while enjoying a conversation with me about movies or something. I felt this huge, stabbing pain in my back I instantly recognized as Cupid’s arrow. Everything seemed to glow, and I regretted my decision to not dress a bit better. Despite my rags, and me beating her in video games (at least once), she actually wanted to see me again. I swore I was dreaming until our first official date. At that point, all the jaded, misguided ideas of love not existing disappeared, and my cold, non used heart warmed as I used it for the first time.

From our first date on, I did everything wrong. There was hardly a rule in the official date book I didn’t break, including blurting out the words “I love you” extremely early. However, the girl of my dreams smiled and told me she had loved me back, and that we would make our own rules. From that moment on, there was no doubt I had found my soul mate. I had never known happiness before that faithful August day, and after seeing Heaven every day, I could never go back.

It was January, and we had dated for three months when we first dropped the “M-word.” Both of us eased into the conversation like a Floridian would ease into 40 degree water. We realized we both wanted to spend our lives with each other. We were so excited; there was no sleeping for days. So, I went and found a ring that I liked, and my parents asked me to use my grandmother’s diamond for the main diamond in the ring.

Everything had gone surprisingly smooth, despite me being terrified and completely clueless. Despite it all, I didn’t care; I just wanted to ask the woman of my dreams to marry me. We had already planned a trip to Disney when I finally got the ring. I was going to wait until the right time to propose when I decided I couldn’t wait. So, with the help of my friend, we planned it out, and I asked her in front of Cinderella’s Castle. It was the greatest moment of my life, and it was perfect, because I truly had found my princess, and in that odd moment; the one in a billion shot, the guy does find true love, and marries the woman of his dreams.

So, the story may not start out “once upon a time” but it does end with a “happily ever after.”

Kevin's Korner is back, baby!

Welcome to another edition of Kevin’s Korner. All your news that you never knew you could care about. This week, we have some great news bits from movies and television, along with some new DVD releases and the always exciting trailer of the week. So, come on in, the water’s fine.

Let's start off with the Box Office Breakdown...

Family movies continue to dominate with Rio taking the top spot with $40 million. Scream 4 took in a mediocre dollar amount of $19.3 million; not bad, I guess, for a movie that premieres 15 years after the original. Here’s the rest of the breakdown. What movie did you contribute your hard earned George Washington’s to?

1. Rio - $40.0 million ($40.0 million total)

2. Scream 4 - $19.3 million ($19.3 million total)

3. Hop - $11.2 million ($82.6 million total)

4. Soul Surfer - $7.4 million ($20.0 million total)

5. Hanna - $7.3 million ($23.3 million total)

6. Arthur - $6.9 million ($22.4 million total)

7. Insidious - $6.9 million ($36.0 million total)

8. Source Code – $6.3 million ($37.0 million total)

9. The Conspirator - $3.9 million ($3.9 million total)

10. Your Highness - $3.9 million ($16.0 million total)

Let’s keep things rolling with some news highlights…

Bryan Singer gives an obvious "my bad" - Yahoo! is reporting that director of Superman Returns, Brian Singer, said he may have made a mistake or two about the movie. While critics seemed to love the film at the beginning, it had luke warm box office numbers and left the studio done with the blue boyscout. Singer said ""I think that Superman Returns was a bit nostalgic and romantic, and I don't think that was what people were expecting, especially in the summer." He also likened the origins of the man of steel to Moses. He also said, if he had to do it over, he would do an origin story with more "balls to the wall action." Despite the flaws, he said he was proud of the film. I personally liked the film, and thought Brandon Routh's portrayal was great, but the script was way too romantic, and Lois Lane was rough, and don't get me started on Cyclops.

Thor Reviews show promise – There are a few reviews trickling online regarding the Marvel blockbuster Thor. The movie, which comes out on May 6th has pretty good reviews, like one from /Film that is promising. As of print time, the movie stands at a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. While some of the hype could be the production company, critics genuinly seem to like the movie. It's a good sign for Marvel, who put all their eggs into an Avengers basket.

Kevin Smith fans rejoice – Controversial director and Southwest Airlines advocate Kevin Smith is doing the happy dance this week, after announcing his unusual marketing strategy for his latest film Red State has already made back the $4 million budget. Smith has not screened the film for critics, nor done any marketing for the film, and is instead, using his podcast to get the word out about the tour and film. The film will eventually open nationwide in October. Meanwhile, the Clerks director is probably saying "Nanee nanee boo-boo" because most in the movie industry thought Smith is crazy.

Mortal Kombat - If you haven't seen the digital short online, starring Star Trek's Jeri Ryan (got your attention now, don't I?) then you should click HERE as soon as you finish reading the rest of the post. With the success of the first of 10 digital shorts, and the upcoming video game, Warner Bros. Distribution is considering a full length movie. If the first episode is any indication, fans are in for a gritty, hardcore action movie with some great cinematography. I just hope to see Reptile, or Scorpion, to see the real-world elements those characters bring.

Every Whedon fan should have a sense of humor – As a fan of director, writer, and all around good guy, Joss Whedon, you have to have a sense of humor, because if you don’t, you’ll probably go crazy. The director, famous for Buffy, Angel and my personal favorite, Firefly wrote a movie called The Cabin in the Woods, starring Thor’s Chris Hemsworth. Sadly, the movie has been stuck in limbo for way too long. The movie sits completed with some 3-D conversion finished. So, what do you do? Complain? No. Try to raise enough money to buy the rights? Like that would work. No, you make a really funny poster:

Heard it before? They found a director for ‘Pride Prejudice and Zombies’ – After tons of rumors online and several directors dropping out, Craig Gillespie is named director of the movie adaptation of the popular book. Gillespie is credited as directing Lars and the Real Girl and the upcoming Fright Night remake.

From the big screen to the small screen, everybody loves the news…

Eddie Winslow is a bad boy – Darius McCrary, most famous for his role as Eddie Winslow on Family Matters had a restraining order issued against him after he was caught being creepy with his ex wife. Apparently, he sent an e-mail with a death threat to his ex wife. What would your father, Carl say?

The Doctor is in – British Sci-fi show Doctor Who makes its triumphant return on Saturday April 23rd. It’s the first time the show will appear on both BBC American and BBC … well, not America at the same time. It’s great because I will no longer be tempted by spoilers. If you find yourself intrigued by the Doctor, check out this great video about the history of Doctor who; all 47 years in 6 minutes. I shouldn’t have to warn you, but I will; there are spoilers.

There have been tons of videos and spoiler discussions on the latest season, which promises an epic death in the first two episodes. If that's how they start, I can't wait to see the cliffhanger they talk about mid-season.

The Q invade Torchwood – OK, not really, but close. Blastr is reporting famed Star Trek: The Next Generation star and semi-villain Q, or atleast the actor who played him, John de Lancie will be joining Bill Pullman and Mekhi Phifer in the new season. The show will be on Starz later this year.

Sam Axe Delivers in Burn Notice Prequel – USA’s TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe aired Sunday night. If you are a Burn Notice fan, the movie had everything you could possibly want, along with a quick appearance by director and star of Burn Notice¸ Jeffrey Donovan. If you are a fan of Bruce Campbell, however, you had to have a nerd-gasm with a great chainsaw scene.

Interested in DVD’s? Of course you are. Here’s what hit the shelves this week…

The Kings Speech

Rabbit Hole

Somewhere

Gulliver’s Travels

The Way Back

Without further delay, our trailer of the week…

This week’s trailer is the second theatrical trailer for Cowboys & Aliens. The trailer shows a few more scenes, and really shows the great mix of a western and a sci-fi movie. I’m stupidly excited for this one. Check it out:

And, if you made it this far, let me thank you, and I look forward to being back next week. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Box Office Breakdown - Hop dominates, Your Highness flops

Russell Brand seems to be the king of the box office this weekend with Hop retaining the tops spot and Arthur taking in number 2 in it's first week with $12.6 million. Your Highness, starring Natalie Portman, James Franco and Danny McBride came in a dismal sixth place with $9.5 million, with a budget of $50 million.

So, what did you see this weekend?


BOX OFFICE TOP TEN
1. Hop - $21.7 million ($68.2 million total)
2. Arthur - $12.6 million ($12.6 million total)
3. Hanna - $12.3 million ($12.3 million total)
4. Soul Surfer - $11.1 million ($11.1 million total)
5. Insidious - $9.7 million ($27.1 million total)
6. Your Highness - $9.5 million ($9.5 million total)
7. Source Code – $9.1 million ($28.6 million total)
8. Limitless - $5.7 million ($64.4 million total)
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules - $4.9 million ($45.5 million total)
10. The Lincoln Lawyer - $4.6 million ($46.5 million total)

A Wedding to Remember Part VIII: Pond Scum

Yeah, I couldn't think of any good movie references for the title. Bust, rest assured, I'm not calling my fiance pond scum. The meaning will be clear, hopefully, and it'll be like when you hear the title of the movie in the movie, and you just yell out "ohhh, that's why they call it that."

First off, our wedding plans are going great. My future wife is stressing as the moment is drawing closer. We have almost exactly six months to go, and we are very excited. Centerpieces are decided on, the location is ready, and my gorgeous future wife has a dress. We still have some stuff left to settle, like photos and catering, but we are all over it, and we are waiting for the day to get here.

So, my beautiful future wife and I have been living together for over a month now. I'm loving life and I'm learning all kinds of things about my future wife. First off, there aren't any bad habits with her. I keep looking for one, but I haven't found any yet. I also learned that she really is amazing, it wasn't just me being blinded by love. Besides being sweet, and kind, she is easy to live with and is an incredible cook. I wake up everyday and think I'm the luckiest guy ever, and not just because I get to see her in her PJs, or because she's way more attractive than the dog, but, because I get to see the definition of my true love. You are thinking that moment in Wedding Crashers, where they define it as your souls recognition of it's counterpoint in another, well, they're right, and my soul recognizes it everyday. My body needs a little coffee before I can see anything, but my soul knows it right away.

As I was driving to work today, I passed a small pond that had grown stagnant. The pond had some crap on the top, and looked gross. Suddenly, I remembered some stupid advice column I had read some years back about how the hardest part is making sure you always have some spontaneity in your relationship to prevent it from getting stagnant and you getting bored. I started to worry. What if she wasn't as happy as I was? What if I lost any excitement my white-bread self had? Is the title starting to make sense now?

So, the hardest part of living together isn't seeing each other all the time. In fact, I find myself sitting at work, wishing I could be with her. That's a good sign, right? Even when I'm not with her, I wish I was. It's not hard living with her. We don't even fight over remotes. That's another good sign. You may be thinking it's because my fiance would slap me if I change the channel from Bravo, but it's not the case, we compromise really well on that. The hardest part is making sure you don't take advantage of the other person and become complacent. I know my fiance will never, ever be boring to me. She's got more life in her than an entire circus crew, but me? I don't know. I'm pretty average.

So, I have to attempt to spice things up a bit. Not because there is scum building on the waters of our relationship, but because I never want that water to become still. That was a pretty metaphorical sentence, right? So, I'm thinking of changing things up. Surprises are good. Random "I love you's" are nice. Showing the passion that our relationship still has so much of is a plus. Maybe there's a show coming up she would like, or maybe I surprise her with dinner so she doesn't have to decide, or maybe I have the boat in the water, ready to go one day.

But what is really considered spicing things up? Is it avoiding the TV at all costs? Is it making sure you don't play video games and avoid that beautiful woman sitting next to you? Is it planning things for everyday? Or is it sharing popcorn for a movie, or asking how her day is and being genuinely interested in the answer, or maybe just having a bit of fun back and forth at the grocery store. Maybe it's all of those things. Unlike some other topics, I don't have the answers. Hopefully the effort is just as important as the result.

While I know that our relationship is in for the long-haul, I never want to be one of those people who just know it is, and figures you never have to put work into it. My amazing, beautiful future wife is worth all the effort and so much more. And, always remembering that stagnant pond will mean that I will continue to try everyday to let her know that I love her and that I'm so lucky she is in my life. Maybe one day, I'll really surprise her, but until then, she'll just have to act surprised. I'm worth it, right? .... right?

Movie Review - Easy A - Starring Emma Stone

The late John Hughes was an exceptional writer. He was known for being able to capture and write teen angst better than anyone. Movies like 16 Candles and Pretty and Pink and the all time classic, Ferris Bueller's Day off were easily identifyable to nearly anyone. This movie takes those movies and brings them into the present, fully aware of the shoulders it stands on.

This movie is an incredibly self-aware movie about a girl who lets one little lie about sleeping with a fictional boy snowball into a school-wide affair, bringing in teachers, and students alike. Olive (Emma Stone) sees a likeness between her new found infamy and the book The Scarlett Letter.

First off, any praise you heard of Stone is well earned. You'll remember the rising star from Zombieland, and she is exceptional here as a wise beyond her years high school girl who enjoys the fact she's being talked about, despite it being about her being a slut. The emotional drama she goes through is very good, and Stone carries the movie perfectly.

The other characters in the movie, including Amanda Bynes, Lisa Kudrow and Thomas Hayden Church are surprisingly shallow, given the depth of the lead. There really isn't any other character, including the parents that are note worthy. I found the rest of the casts attempt at being witty slightly forced, like a Diablo Cody script (see Jennifers Body). I was in high school, and life's problems weren't always solved by a healthy dose of sarcasm and pop culture references.

That being said, the movie captures the essence of a John Hughes movie quite well. It has heart, and it does a great job of capturing the social anxiety and pressure of high school kids without asking you to feel sorry for them. Overall, it was an entertaining movie that is just another stepping stone on the way to greatness for the talented Emma Stone.

Movie Review - Hop - Starring Russell Brand & James Marsden

Hop is the little live action movie that takes a raunchy British comedienne, in Russell Brand and uses him to portray the Easter Bunny in a family movie. The oddness gets better when they add James Marsden as a slacker and Caley Cuoco as his sister. All of this is wrapped up into an easter egg and sold to families. And, obviously, according to the box office, the families bought it. But, is it any good? Well, I can tell you, as a Hopp, it doesn't tarnish my good name. (Yep, I pulled out the stupid last name joke, what of it?)

The movie is about Fred. Fred is a slacker with no life ambition or goals. One day, he meets E.B., a rabbit voiced by Brand, who is on the run from his responsibilities as Easter Bunny. Now, the two have to help each other figure out their life, and get a job.

The movie is extremely simple. If you have seen Tim Allen's Santa Clause, then you've seen this movie too. That being said, I liked the Santa Clause and I liked this movie too. Both were sweet enough to give you a cavity, like any good easter basket, and this one really had some heart to it. Surprisingly, most of the heart came from Russell Brand, an unlikely source for a kids movie to say the least.

The special effects, mainly the Easter Island work factory were quite good. There were plenty of shots where you could tell they were using camera trickery instead of straight on special effects to save on the budget, but overall, it was pretty good. Marsden is forced to carry the movie on his own, here, as he is often the only real person on screen, and he doesn't do a terrible job. He's entertaining, and he plays off a computer generated rabbit surprisingly well.

Overall, I can't think of any other Easter movie that I would reccomend more than this. (I swear, if someone puts Passion of the Christ in the comments section, I will find a bunny and punch it in the face). This movie was cute, it was entertaining, and the kids in the audience, big and small really seemed to be entertained. Easter is just around the corner, and this movie is a perfect way to keep cool, and entertain the whole family.

Batman rebooted? Again?

Sadly, this is no April Fools joke. Warner Bros. plans on rebooting Batman, Superman and the Green Lantern in 2013 for a Justice League movie. If you're like me, you are now pounding your head against the desk in frustration.

With the third, and allegedly final Christian Bale/Christopher Nolan Batman coming out next year, WB is not waiting for the dust to settle. They are planning on rebooting the character for later on that year to star on Justice League. The two Batman's will have nothing to do with each other and will be a total reboot, asking audiences to forget the character they saw, potentially a few months prior in theaters.

The same looks to be done for Zack Snyder's Superman. That character will get rebooted as well, and again, have nothing to do with the movie coming out next year. Superman just made headlines as it was announced Amy Adams would play Lois Lane in the movie. The new Superman is a reboot, as well, not having anything to do with the previous four Christopher Reeve movies, or the critically panned Superman Returns.

Are you getting sick of me using the word "reboot?" Yeah, so am I. However, with Wonder Woman getting a TV show, and a goofy costume, and Green Lantern coming out this year with Ryan Reynolds, it's likely not the last time you hear the word.

This, to me, just seems like a lame attempt to follow Marvels success as they head toward the upcoming Avengers movie, after giving all the characters their own movie. It seems like a great move by Marvel, and one that has been expertly handled with mere teases of other characters in the film. DC's version seems like a rushed attempt at making money that could ruin any good storytelling done by Nolan or Snyder.

What do you think? If this movie gets started (which it has before, only to fail), would you go see it? What do you think about reboot-pocalypse?